Former
U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner exits U.S. Federal Court, after
pleading guilty to one count of sending obscene messages to a
minor, ending an investigation into a "sexting" scandal that
played a role in last year's U.S. presidential election, in New
York City, U.S., May 19, 2017.REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner wept
on Friday as he pleaded guilty to sending sexually explicit
messages to a teenage girl, ending an investigation into a
"sexting" scandal that played a role in last year's U.S.
presidential election.

Wearing a navy suit, maroon tie and his wedding band, a tearful
Weiner, 52, described his conduct before U.S. District Judge
Loretta Preska in New York City.

"I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse," Weiner said,
apologizing to the 15-year-old girl to whom he sent sexually
explicit images and messages last year.

The charge of transferring obscene material to a minor carries a
maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but Weiner is likely to
get less. As part of his plea agreement, federal prosecutors said
they would consider a term between 21 months and 27 months "fair
and appropriate."

Weiner will be sentenced on Sept. 8.

The former Democratic congressman's political career imploded
after a series of scandals involving inappropriate sexual
exchanges with women online.

The probe into his exchanges with the teenage girl, however, also
helped upend the final days of the 2016 U.S. presidential
campaign.

Federal agents who had seized Weiner's laptop discovered a batch
of emails from Huma Abedin, a senior aide to Hillary Clinton, the
Democratic nominee for president in 2016.

As a result, James Comey, then the director of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation, announced in late October that the agency was
reviewing the messages to determine whether to reopen its
investigation into Clinton's handling of official correspondence.

Clinton, who was leading in national polls at the time, has
blamed her loss to Republican Donald Trump in part on Comey's
announcement, even though he said two days before the election in
November that the review had uncovered no new evidence.

Huma
Abedin and Anthony WeinerAP

Hours after the court hearing, Abedin filed for divorce, the New
York Post reported, citing court filings. Abedin had announced
her separation from Weiner last summer after a new round of
explicit messages emerged that included an image of Weiner's
crotch as he lay in bed with their young son.

A lawyer for Abedin did not immediately respond to a request for
comment on the N.Y. Post report.

Destructive impulses

Huma
Abedin, aide to Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Hillary
Clinton, at the conclusion of the second official 2016 Democratic
presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa, November 14,
2015.REUTERS/Jim
Young

The controversy over Clinton's use of a private email server
while she was U.S. secretary of state dogged her throughout the
campaign.

Trump and other Republicans accused Clinton of endangering
national security by exposing classified information to potential
hacking.

In testimony to Congress two weeks ago, Comey said he felt
"mildly nauseous" at the suggestion his actions may have swayed
the election, but added that he had no regrets.

Trump fired Comey days later amid the FBI's probe into whether
Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to defeat Clinton, an
allegation the president has vehemently denied.

The investigation into Weiner came to light after the Daily Mail,
a British newspaper, published an interview with the North
Carolina teen last year.

Weiner, who served parts of New York City for 12 years in the
U.S. House of Representatives, resigned in 2011 after an explicit
photograph was posted on his Twitter account. He initially
claimed his account had been hacked but eventually acknowledged
he had sent the image as well as inappropriate messages to
several women.

Two years later, he announced a run for New York City mayor but
dropped out of the race when more explicit messages became
public.

On Friday, Weiner described his repeated transgressions as
compulsive behavior and said that since last year he has been
receiving "intensive" mental health treatment.

"These destructive impulses brought great devastation to family
and friends, and destroyed my life's dream of public service,"
Weiner said. "And yet I remained in denial, even as the world
around me fell apart."